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What Is Competency-Based Learning? 

Competency-based learning (CBL) is an approach to teaching and learning where students show growth through demonstrating mastery of specific skills or knowledge before advancing to the next unit. Sometimes referred to as competency-based education or competence-based teaching, the teacher’s goal is to pace classroom units around the individual students instead of a fixed calendar. Students only progress forward when they demonstrate that they truly understand and have mastered the current material. This means that they can spend more or less time on individual topics, depending on their needs. 

Within CBL, learning is personalized and tailored to the individual, meaning they are not limited by a one-size-fits-all classroom approach. Teachers shift from traditional lecturers to facilitators who support unique paths to success and can tailor learning around competencies with less focus on specific age or grade restrictions. As a result, students develop greater independence by controlling their own learning pace and achieving true mastery of the material, advancing based solely on their individual skills. 

 Examples of integrating CBL might include: 

• Building an essay portfolio in a middle or high school English classroom and tracking the growth of writing skills through self-assessment, peer review and teacher feedback using a common rubric. 

• Using project-based CBL in K-12 STEM classrooms, where students apply concepts to real-world problems and progress through the unit by demonstrating their problem-solving abilities. 

• Structuring K-5 life science units around key competencies, such as conducting simple experiments or explaining plant life cycles, with students demonstrating understanding through hands-on projects and presentations. 

Pros of Competency-Based Learning 

CBL can be an incredible tool to ensure students have a learning experience conducive to their skillsets and abilities. Here are some strong suits of CBL: 

• Personalized and empowered learning: Students work at their own pace, and teachers can tailor learning objectives to each student’s learning styles and needs. This encourages students to take ownership of their learning and continue to develop self-motivation. 

• Focus on mastery, not memorization: Students must demonstrate a solid understanding of the material before moving on to what comes next. This deeper engagement reduces learning gaps within the classroom and helps ensure retention instead of memorization. 

• Increased student engagement: CBL often integrates real-world connections and projects to demonstrate learning, providing students with choice. This often makes lessons more meaningful to students. 

• Data-driven feedback: Teachers use frequent, formative assessments in monitoring student progress and determining mastery. This allows them to quickly identify and address learning gaps and provide students with personalized, targeted support as needed. 

• Promotes equity in education: By meeting individuals where they are, CBL can help teachers provide a more equitable learning experience and close achievement gaps that otherwise prohibit students from reaching their full potential. 

Cons of Competency-Based Learning 

No teaching approach is perfect, and CBL is no exception. Here are potential shortcomings of CBL to keep in mind: 

• Challenges in initial implementation: Making the switch from a traditional classroom format to CBL requires a significant shift in mindset, as well as changes in curriculum design and assessment methods. It likely requires teacher training and effective professional development as well. As a result, overall teacher buy-in can be difficult. 

• Demands more time and effort: Teachers must create personalized learning pathways and track individual progress. This requires significant time at the beginning of planning and can be overwhelming, especially in large classes and with limited resources. 

• Assessment complications: Defining mastery can sometimes get complicated. Without clear rubrics or guidelines, grading can often become subjective and inconsistent. 

• Risk of inequity: CBL relies on digital tools for personalized instruction and accurate tracking. Not all students or school districts have equal access to technology. This, as teachers already know, widens the achievement gap unless there is reliable funding to provide necessary resources. 

Is Competency-Based Learning Right for Your Classroom? 

CBL is not an all-or-nothing approach to achieving learning outcomes. In most cases, educators wanting to implement CBL into their classrooms start small, using it for specific units or subjects. This allows them to modify or tweak the implementation and gradually expand using CBL as they gain confidence and track outcomes. 

 It’s also beneficial to have students set mastery goals on other assignments, such as a vocabulary or math skills test, before introducing CBL into a lesson. This can help set the expectation (and self-motivation) for mastery, and what mastery looks like in your classroom. 

If your school offers flexibility and support for new teaching methods, and you feel confident in your ability to differentiate instruction for a variety of classroom needs, you may already have a unit or subject suitable for piloting CBL. Many educators find that blending basic CBL strategies with traditional methods creates a smoother transition for both students and teachers, while also providing an effective way to evaluate its impact in your classroom. 

Additionally, it’s helpful to collaborate when implementing CBL into your curriculum. You might consider creating common rubrics and assessments with other teachers and working with a team to define measurable competencies. Approaching CBL as a team carries the added benefit of creating even more structure and consistent expectations for students. 

Tips for Getting Started with CBL 

1. Start small. Begin using CBL in your classroom by thinking of it as a strategy to implement within a singular lesson or unit, rather than trying to overhaul your entire curriculum all at once. This allows more room for experimentation, adjustments and figuring out the best way to track data to show growth without it being overwhelming to both the teacher and students. 

2. Define clear mastery goals. Before you plan, identify the key skills or knowledge students must demonstrate to show mastery of the subject you plan to use CBL within. This will help in your design of rubrics and measurable competencies for students in conjunction with the unit of study itself. 

3. Personalize learning pathways. Design learning experiences that will truly help students progress at their own pace. Tailor your instruction and assessments to individual needs using formative assessments to measure mastery instead of relying on traditional summative tests. 

4. Use technology for feedback. Track student progress, manage assessments and provide targeted feedback in real time through platforms such as MasteryConnect, Khan Academy or Google Classroom. These platforms help to quickly identify and communicate learning gaps because you’re able to collect valuable data at the same time as the student is building their skills. 

5. Collaborate and reflect. Work with a team or small group if possible. By working with colleagues to create common rubrics and measurable competencies for implementing CBL, more consistency and clarity will exist for both teachers and students. This collaboration can also help to split up the workload more efficiently and provide valuable problem-solving collaborations when hiccups happen. 

How ACE Can Prepare You to Be a CBL Pro 

Transitioning to CBL in your classroom requires a lot of shifts: mindset, curriculum design, assessment measures and even troubleshooting and problem-solving. ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ (ACE) offers an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction program, which is designed to help educators master student-centered, modern classroom instruction methods. You’ll focus on evidence-based strategies and a competency-based model of education, providing you with practical methods of implementing differentiated instruction and personalized learning pathways. 

FAQs about Competency-Based Learning 

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ’s education programs prepare you with evidence-based pedagogies for all learners.